University of Georgia pitcher Cole Wilcox has a major decision to make after being selected by the San Diego Padres in the third round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft Thursday night.
The former Heritage High School star, who was projected to be a first-round pick by ESPN, MLB Network and The Athletic, went undrafted in 38 picks Wednesday, which included the first round and nine compensation selections.
When he was finally selected by the Padres at No. 80 overall on Thursday, he had been the top undrafted player available for nearly two rounds due to concerns about the difficulty of signing him. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Wilcox had a sensational start to the 2020 season at Georgia with a 3-0 record and a 1.57 ERA with 32 strikeouts, just two walks and 18 hits allowed in 23 innings before the season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Padres have a nearly nearly $11 million draft pool allotment, the fourth-highest among MLB’s 30 teams. They had three picks prior to choosing Wilcox and took three players coming out of high school, possibly saving the club millions of dollars.
The signing concerns are from reports that Wilcox has demanded mid-to-early first-round money, which can reach upwards of $5 million. The 80th pick is slotted for $767,80. Last month, Wilcox told the Times Free Press that “Teams know I love Georgia and I feel comfortable returning. It should play out like it should. You just never know what strategy teams will take. Will they save money? Won’t know until then.”